EU Accession and LGBT+ Rights in Ukraine
Location
PANEL: Politics Honors Pt. I
Wilder 101
Moderator: David Forrest
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
5-1-2026 3:30 PM
End Date
5-1-2026 4:30 PM
Abstract
This project aims to understand what is behind the rise in tolerance of and support for LGBTQ+* people in Ukraine and interrogate the efficacy of the EU's strategy of rule of law conditionality over more grassroots efforts. I have identified four primary drivers: European Union membership conditionality, post-Maidan political values, homonationalism (in the Ukrainian context), and the creation of a civilizational narrative about LGBTQ+ rights. Using both a nationally representative survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology testing support for each predicted driver among Ukrainians, and interviews with Ukrainian activists and politicians in the center of this effort, I aim to find out which drivers are most effective and active in Ukraine. How can Ukrainian organizations get public support to translate into passing the civil partnerships bill that is currently in committee in the Ukrainian parliament, and are there other pressing LGBTQ+ rights issues to take up? Does the European Union need to rethink its membership conditionality system as a vehicle for norm promotion and harmonization, in favor of a more local approach, focused on Ukrainian agency?
*I use the term LGBTQ+ instead of queer both to mirror terminology in the work of Ukrainian academics, and in light of Wiedlack and Dmytryk’s (2021) critique of the term queer and queering when applied to Ukraine.
Keywords:
Ukraine, Queer, European Union, Activism
Recommended Citation
Chapin, Katia, "EU Accession and LGBT+ Rights in Ukraine" (2026). Research Symposium. 4.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2026/presentations/4
Major
Politics
Award
Jere Bruner Research Grant
Project Mentor(s)
Amanda Zadorian, Politics
2026
EU Accession and LGBT+ Rights in Ukraine
PANEL: Politics Honors Pt. I
Wilder 101
Moderator: David Forrest
This project aims to understand what is behind the rise in tolerance of and support for LGBTQ+* people in Ukraine and interrogate the efficacy of the EU's strategy of rule of law conditionality over more grassroots efforts. I have identified four primary drivers: European Union membership conditionality, post-Maidan political values, homonationalism (in the Ukrainian context), and the creation of a civilizational narrative about LGBTQ+ rights. Using both a nationally representative survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology testing support for each predicted driver among Ukrainians, and interviews with Ukrainian activists and politicians in the center of this effort, I aim to find out which drivers are most effective and active in Ukraine. How can Ukrainian organizations get public support to translate into passing the civil partnerships bill that is currently in committee in the Ukrainian parliament, and are there other pressing LGBTQ+ rights issues to take up? Does the European Union need to rethink its membership conditionality system as a vehicle for norm promotion and harmonization, in favor of a more local approach, focused on Ukrainian agency?
*I use the term LGBTQ+ instead of queer both to mirror terminology in the work of Ukrainian academics, and in light of Wiedlack and Dmytryk’s (2021) critique of the term queer and queering when applied to Ukraine.
